Saadi Abbas seeks government’s support for Olympic qualification

Pakistan karate master, Saadi Abbas said that government’s support can help him qualify for the Olympics 2020 in Tokyo.

Saadi while talking to the media said that he wants to represent Pakistan in Olympics 2020 but for that government’s support is important.

“Government should come forward to help me and many other athletes who want to participate in the Olympics 2020,” he said.

Saadi said that they need to participate in almost 10 events before qualifying to the Olympics and each competition will cost around Rs 150,000 to 200,000.

“We need financial support from the government as next tournaments including South Asian games are really crucial for us in order to qualify for the grand event in Tokyo,” he said.

Saadi also stressed the need of a foriegn coach in order to make his techniques more appealing and can help him compete strongly at international level.

“I want to be trained by a foreign coach as it will help me get in a good shape for upcoming International assignments,” he said.

Saadi further said that India is investing a lot to improve sports infrastructure in their country that’s why their players are achieving much more than us.

“We always compare our athletes with Indian athletes but don’t know how much they are spending on their players,” said Saadi.

It is pertinent to mention here that Saadi has currently made his place in top-ten in world cup 2018. He is also the first South Asian to win the Asian Karatedo Championship in 2011 and then won the US Open title in the -75 kg.